For many, a Mercedes represents the pinnacle of automotive engineering and prestige, and when you look at an E-Class it’s easy to see why. Beautifully built, brilliantly engineered and bristling with safety tech, the Mercedes E-Class is a cut above most of its rivals. With the fourth-generation edition, codenamed W212 by Mercedes, the German company excelled itself with a range of highly desirable saloons, estates, coupés and cabriolets. Expensive when new, these cars aren’t as exclusive as you might think and as a result they can represent excellent value as a used buy – but while the Merc’s efficient engines can be more parsimonious than you might think, running costs can also be high. Still, sometimes it’s worth making sacrifices.

Key dates

6/09: The Mk4 E-Class saloon and coupé arrive. There are E200, E250, E350 and E500 CGI petrol saloons, along with E200, E220, E250 and E350 CDI diesels.

8/09: The 525bhp E63 AMG debuts.

1/10: The capacious estate reaches showrooms, with the same engines as the saloon.

3/10: There’s now an E-Class cabriolet.

11/12: The E300 BlueTec hybrid debuts.

3/13: A facelifted E-Class brings revised exterior styling, extra equipment, cleaner engines and SE or AMG Sport trims in place of the previous SE, Avantgarde and Sport.

9/14: A refresh brings extra standard equipment, a nine-speed automatic transmission and more efficient engines.

Checklist

• Each successive trim level increases fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, so potentially the road tax cost.
• All facelifted autos have seven speeds; before this (March 2013), four-cylinder automatic E-Classes got only five speeds.
• This is a great family car, but the transmission tunnel hinders anyone in the middle of the rear seat.
• The factory-fitted diamond-cut alloys can corrode under the lacquer, but they’re refurbished easily enough.
• Some diesel models were fitted with faulty injectors, so check for misfiring and black exhaust smoke.
• Folding rear seats are only optional in the saloon, so find a car that features them if practicality is key. They really boost the car’s practicality.
• The four-cylinder engines are quick enough, but can be harsh; the six-cylinder units are much smoother, and still decently economical.

We like

• Strength
• Image
• Refinement
• Spacious cabin
• Efficient engines
• Value
• Build quality
• Reliability
• Wide model range
• Safety levels

We don’t like

• Not that exclusive
• Potentially high running costs